A specialist prison riot squad has been called into Strangeways jail NINE TIMES since April.

New figures reveal how governors are increasingly calling in the National Tactical Response Group, a specialist mobile band of prison officers trained in how to deal with riots and other serious incidents inside jails.

Since April the unit, which has one unit based in the north and another in the south, was called to HMP Manchester nine times, one of them to handle a three-day rooftop protest by convicted murderer Stuart Horner, 36.

The other incidents are believed to include hostage-taking and suicide attempts.

It represents a dramatic rise - the unit was called to HMP Manchester just once in 2014. It wasn’t called out at all in the first three months of this year.

Nationally, the NTRG was called out 343 times so far this year compared to 223 occasions last year.

The Prison Officers’ Association blamed government cuts and say the figures show Strangeways is in crisis.

Spokesman Glyn Travis said: “Strangeways has gone from a well-ordered. well-disciplined prison to one where we have a lot of concerns because of a lack of staff, low morale and a lack of staff.”

In October, the M.E,N. revealed how the annual report by the Independent Monitoring Board portrayed how the category-A 1,200-inmate prison was in crisis with angry and fearful prisoners locked in their cells most of the day while stretched warders struggled to cope.

The Government has hinted Strangeways and other inner-city prisons could be sold for housing to make way for nine new jails.

(Image: Vincent Cole)

Official figures suggest at least 6,000 prison officer post have been axed since 2010 while the Ministry of Justice must cut its budget by a further 15 per cent by 2019/20.

A Prison Service spokesperson said: “It is incorrect to link a rise in the number of National Tactical Response Group (NTRG) callouts with violence. The overwhelming majority of call outs were for non-violent incidents, including where they attended as a precaution and when the situation was resolved by prison staff.

“We take a zero tolerance approach to violence in prisons. Prisoners who are violent face investigation by the police and having extra time added to their sentence.”